Show kicks off IBC-13's new prime time strategy launches its first fantasy series
Posted on January 06, 2014 07:37:00 PM The country’s number 3 network is definitely on the go to get the top spot in the TV ratings race. Sequestered TV station IBC-13 has became the birthplace of the Golden Age of Philippine Television and aggressively luring the best people in the industry to join its turf, producing fresh shows to compete head to head with those offerings of ABS-CBN and GMA. In fact, more and more veteran actors had already signed up for different shows in the network. During the 70's and 80's had its years of glory at the height of Martial Law, IBC-13 was the leading network that time because of their shows like Iskul Bukol (featuring Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto and Joey de Leon otherwise known as TVJ), Seeing Stars with Joe Quirino, T.O.D.A.S., Chicks to Chicks, Maricel Live! (featuring Diamond Star Maricel Soriano), The Sharon Cuneta Show (featuring Megastar Sharon Cuneta), Sic O'Clock News, Loveloness (featuring Tangga Queen Alma Moreno) were hits. After the EDSA revolution in 1986, IBC was sequestered by the government under the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG). Filipino sports fans who watched the professional basketball league as the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) (under Sports5) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) (under Solar Sports). Aside from the PBA and NBA basketball, the network has already strings of hit shows on its belt with T.O.D.A.S., Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Born to be a Superstar, as well as its flagship news programs are the high-rating Express Balita and News Team 13. It has also produced several drama series which are already very much competitive quality-wise sans those produced by rival networks. Now, IBC-13 has started its campaign to snag prime time TV audiences from rival networks and begin airing its first fantasy series, Janella in Wonderland, on Monday, moving the PBA games (under Sports5 since 2011) -- which monopolized IBC-13’s prime time and now moves to 8:30 p.m. slot during Wednesday and Friday, and remained the weekend prime time slot on Saturday 4-6 p.m. and Sunday 3-7 p.m. JANELLA SALVADOR stars in IBC’s ''Janella in Wonderland'' Janella in Wonderland, IBC-13’s very first fantaserye which debuted on January 6 and airing from Monday to Friday, it moves over the time slot vacated by the PBA games on Wednesday and Friday into 8:30 p.m. timeslot, the station will revive the network's glory days of IBC especially in the early 70’s and 80’s. The PBA games now aired on Wednesday and Friday 4:30-6:30 p.m. and 8:30-10:30 p.m.), Saturday (4-6 p.m.) and Sunday (3-7 p.m.), after monopolizing IBC-13’s prime time programming for more than four years. Network executives led by the new improved IBC chairman Jose Avellana decided last month to move the PBA games to the weekend prime time slot starting January 8 at 8:30 p.m., paving the way for IBC-13 in a slate to build its prime-time programming line-up while pitting the sequestered TV network head-to-head against the two giant networks by joining the fantaserye race. IBC Entertainment TV head Laurenti Dyogi said the launch of Janella in Wonderland is just the first of the many new prime time shows that the network will launch this year. “IBC-13 will start with Janella in Wonderland, then will build our prime time programming that will join the network war," Mr. Dyogi told BusinessWorld in an interview last Sunday. "We are diversifying our programming line-up to cater to more audience preferences," he added. MONOPOLIZING TIME Prime time television, which is between 6 and 10 p.m., is called such because it is during this time when TV viewing is at its peak. Because of this, advertisers place most of their TV commercials in programs aired during this time. Industry observers earlier pointed out that IBC-13 was started out in attracting more advertisers when they allowed PBA games airing on Wednesday and Friday nights and weekend prime time in the total of 5 games (one game on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and two games on Sunday) while take over their prime time programming. From 2011 to 2013, the game was supposed to air on Wednesday and Friday with first game from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. and the second game from 7:15 to 9 p.m., but in September 30, 2013 when the games to go at night and airing from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., Mr. Canoy admits that the PBA games were "polarizing" for advertisers. As the first venture into prime-time fantaserye, IBC-13 hopes to revamped all that, and get more advertisers interested with the launch of the very first fantasy series Janella in Wonderland, starring the 15-year-old teen actress Janella Salvador, who is also crossover to ABS-CBN’s Be Careful with My Heart, she is now as IBC contract star who she called as the Primetime Princess of IBC. Directed by acclaimed film and TV director Jeffrey Jeturian and Paco Sta. Maria, Salvador as the character Janella, a girl from the island. She's a teenager and learned a secret: she's a mermaid! As a magical mermaid princess, Janella learned her dolphin Zuma and her Jamaican crab Sebastian set off on an undersea adventure to rescue her mother, the queen of Oceana. With help from her new mermaid friends, Janella saves the ocean kingdom. Janella in Wonderland also stars Marlo Mortel as Janella’s love interest. Rounding with the refreshing cast are Andrei Felix, Roxee B, Sam Y.G., Richie D'Horsie, Gabbi Garcia, Chelseah Ongsee, Janina Vela, BJ Forbes, CJ Navato, Carlo Lacana, Kat Alano as Calissa, Jai & Joj Agpangan, Mikee Lee, Jazz Ocampo and Paolo Serrano, the voices of Alyanna Angeles as Zuma, Hans Mortel as Sebastian and Harvey Bautista as Snouts, Ciara Sotto as Dreamfish, Nel Gomez as Kim's Pet Fish, Raine Salamante as Lipstick Fish, Red Sternberg as Remo and Jake Roxas as Pufferazzi, The Destines are Celine Lim, Dexie Daulat and Aria Cariño, and the villains are Alessandra de Rossi as Eris, Meryll Soriano as Ursula, RJ Ledesma as the voice of Shark, Bernard Palanca as the voice of Dragon Fish and Bart Guingona as the voice of Mocktopus. The special participation are Sofia Millares as young Janella. LOSSES The launch of Janella in Wonderland, as well as the changes that IBC-13 is in financial distress and implementing in its prime time line up, comes after reports claimed that the network incurred operating in an average net profit of more than P45.26 million last year. The government is not allowed to sell the network because it is still up for privatization by the government. While the network has denied to release in privatization, network executives admit that IBC-13, the government-sequestered corporation since 1986 - is disadvantageous to the government and will continue to gain in 2013. Basing the amount from the lowest primetime television rates of People's Television Network (PTV-4) known as Telebisyon ng Bayan, which is a government-owned station. IBC-13 is a government-sequestered firm, along with Radio Philippines Network (RPN-9). "The revenues and income are part of growing the network," Mr. Canoy explained. "We had to spend for new equipment, new lights, and new cameras. We had to pay for great actors and actresses, brilliant directors, creative scriptwriters," he added. Janella in Wonderland airs weeknights 7:45 p.m. after the newscast Express Balita, IBC-13's longest-running and highest rated primetime news program. 'Primetime Lineup Starting January 6, 2014:' 2 newscasts + 1 fantaserye + 1 movie block (Viva Films) + PBA + 1 Koreanovela *'Monday/Tuesday/Thursday' *05:30-06:30 Noli Me Tangere (rerun) *06:30-07:45 Express Balita *07:45-08:30 Janella in Wonderland (new show) *08:30-10:30 Viva Box Office *10:30-11:00 Glory Jane *11:00-11:30 News Team 13 *'Wednesday/Friday' *04:30-06:30 PBA (1st game) *06:30-07:45 Express Balita *07:45-08:30 Janella in Wonderland (new show) *08:30-10:30 PBA (2nd game) *10:30-11:00 Glory Jane *11:00-11:30 News Team 13